Fluffyland Craft & Sewing Blog

Category: Clothes

happy happenings

rainbow plaid pj shorts

I made rainbow plaid pj shorts in less than two hours today… there’s nothing quite like homemade pajama bottoms. They take no time or effort, they fit no matter how they come out, and they always feel so much comfier than anything storebought. Such instant gratification!

rainbow plaid shorts with hanging loop

Since I can never tell front from back when I’m slipping on my homemade pjs, I added this nifty ribbon loop. Not only will I never put them on backwards, but I can hang them up! I’m very excited about this.

blackberry tartlets

On Thursday evening I picked the first full batch of blackberries this season. They’re so perfect when they come right in from the backyard, mmm. After a few nibbles it was blackberry baking time!

blackberry tartlets

These are mini blackberry custard tartlets, based loosely off a lemon curd tartlet recipe. It starts with a simple pie crust, rolled out and cut into circles then pressed into a muffin tin. The custard called for “farmer’s cheese”, a European thing… I used cottage cheese then blended the whole thing when I was done. Since I had neither lemon curd nor real lemons on hand, I poured a bit of lemon juice into the custard to make it taste less like, well, nothing. The lemon flavor wasn’t noticeable in the finished product, but I’m convinced it added something.

What made these super awesome was my blackberry treatment beforehand. Prior to starting any of the mixing, I tossed my blackberries in a bowl with some lemon juice and a decent sprinkling of sugar and let them sit as I worked. The soaked-in sweetness is an obvious plus to the finished dessert. I’m definitely going to be making these again!

beautiful back to school shoes

And yesterday I bought these beautiful shoes for back to school. I’m not going to wear them until I get to Cleveland, so they’ll stay white for the rest of the summer (and get dirty instantly come August 15). It’s been a bright and happy weekend!

soft

sweatshirts and slippers,
sewing through flannel and fleece;
comfy, cozy day.

Last night I went into “cut stuff out of magazines” mode, the mode I usually go into when I need to do something creative but can’t think of anything too extraordinary. Here’s a mirror in progress:

mirror decoupaged by magazines

The mirror’s from Ikea; it started out with a wide, unfinished wood frame. So far I’ve just been glue-sticking circles onto it, but I’m planning on sealing it with modpodge or some varnish when I’ve covered it completely.

And today I made a pair of pajama pants, start to finish, in an hour flat! I think that’s a record. It’s always fun to have a new pair of pjs for Christmas! Brand new flannel just can’t be beat when it comes to coziness.

pj pants made of street-sign print flannel!

invincible

i’ve deftly conquered
the evil sweatshirt of doom;
victory is mine.

plaza de toros … bull ring … madrid.

At least two years ago, I cut out a sweatshirt. It was to be a lined, zippered hoodie. I put together each half, stitching up the lining and the outer shell separately. But when I tried them on, it was huge. As one of my first forays into the land of knits, serging, clothing, etc., I became very easily frustrated and discouraged. The sides weren’t the issue; the neckhole itself was gargantuan and I couldn’t think of a way to fix it without my hoodie having a seam down the back. So I did the easiest thing and the best answer at the time: I stuffed it in a drawer.

Last week, I found the thing, stuffed in a drawer with random knits and other forsaken projects. After inspection I realized that, if I were to add a band around the bottom as most hoodies have anyway, the hoodie pieces could be entirely recut to an appropriate size for my petite self. So I ripped seams and chopped away, figuring I had solved the problems.

Of course, I then realized what I was into: a lined, zip-front hoodie. My head has been spinning all week, trying to decide where to connect various pieces in order for it to look as nice as possible. Do I sandwich the zipper right-to-right? But then how would I do the hood? When should I put in pockets? and so on…

But finally, as of twenty minutes ago, it is finished. And entirely lovely, if I do say so myself. A ridiculously complicated garment for its simple appearance; no advanced sewing techniques required, it just took lots of brain power and thinking inside-out and around.

But I have won this battle, I have beat this challenge, I have conquered a small drawer-filling enemy. And it’s cute, and I’m triumphant.